The battle over ore and tiberium has raged on our computer screens for the past 17 years almost unabated. Even with the closure of original developer Westwood Studios in 2003 publisher Electronic Arts was able to bring the series back in true form with Command & Conquer 3 just four short years later. Can they re-invent the franchise once again after failing to resurrect the Generals sub-series?

The shift from a “premium experience” (ie. full $60 disc based games) to an all digital, free to play platform has slowly engulfed some of the PCs biggest multiplayer titles . Following the footsteps of converting Star Wars the OId Republic into a free to play title the next C&C title will also be available free of charge.

While no details were made official, EA has launched an official website for their free to play C&C efforts. Browser based Command and Conquer alliances, which launched earlier this year, was also released for free.

Previously the next C&C title was known as C&C Generals 2 but it looks like EA/Bioware have opted for a more straight forward title, Command & Conquer, harkening back to the days of Windows 95 and the war between the Brotherhood of NOD and Global Defense Initiative.

Interestingly a statement released by EA today makes reference to the entire C&C Universe including Red Alert and Tiberium Wars. Could this free to play model merge all of the C&C timelines together and incorporate elements from the series decade and a half history? We’ve got our fingers crossed.

Here is EA’s statement in full followed by the C&C GamesCom Trailer:

We are thrilled about this opportunity to transform Command & Conquer into a premier online experience,” said Jon Van Caneghem, VP/GM at EA. “For nearly two decades, this franchise has existed as something you buy; now we are creating a destination where our fans will be able to access the entire Command & Conquer universe, starting with Generals and continuing with Red Alert, Tiberium and beyond. With Frostbite 2, we are able to keep an emphasis on the AAA quality our consumers expect while staying true to the RTS gameplay they know and love – all available online for free.

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